Improved gaff for vesselsj sails



; UNITEDN 'STATES PATENT Ormea..

IVILLIAM H. CONIVAY, OF HARRISON, MARYLAND- IMPROVED GAFF FOR VESSELS SAILS.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 33,295, dated September 17, 1861.

To all whom, 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM Il. CONWAY, of Harrison, in the county of Dorchester and State of Maryland, have invented an Improvement in Gaifs for Sail .and other Vessels, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, of which- Figure l is a top view; Fig. 2, a side elevation, and Fig. 3 an end view.

The object of my invention is to avoid the chaiing of the mast in setting and striking sail, and at the same time to relieve the canvas and rope of all strain in the dropping of the peak. To these ends the jaws are constructed out of any timber which presents a naturallyformed fork or crotch, and they are adjusted to the mast, when they remain permanently iixed in the setting and striking of the sail. The jaws have an extension like the handle of a pitchfork, to which :is attached by means of a strong hinge the peakor outer end of the gaff. This arrangement will be more distinctly understood by reference to the drawings, in which- A A represent the jaws that encircle the mast; B, the extension of the jaws, to which is attached by means of the hinge a t-he peak or outer end C of the gaff. The jaws with their extension are adjusted to the mast by means of the throat-halyard, which passes through the hook b, and the mastrope, which is attached to the hook c. In the setting and striking of the sail lthese jaws remain stationary and there is no abrasion of the mast, as there is in cases when the gaff is made of one piece, the sail being trimmed wholly by means of the hinged peak acted upon by the peak-halya-rd. Moreover, by my improvement the sail is not strained in dropping the peak, which is the case with gaffs as heretofore constructed, for other gaffs being made whole without joint, and the throat-halyard hook forming the center of motion, the jaw end of the gaff acts upon the throat of the sail in the shape of a lever and draws up the sail vertically and diagonally, often lifting the boom bodily. It is obvious that from my improvement no such result can ilow. It renders the construction ofthe gaff cheap, for the jaws may be of uaturalgrowth, and when one part is worn out or injured it can be renewed without the renewal of the whole, and these con siderations conduce to show its durability. It tends to make the gaff much easier to the sail in dropping the peak, as there is no strain on the ropes or canvas. By it the peak when down is much easier set up, as the jaws are not grinding the mast, and the jaws when up are always in the proper place, and the dropping of the throat of the sail is not required when jibing. i

I have stated above that my jaws may be formed out of timber which presents a naturally-formed fork or crotch. The method heretofore generally adopted of making the jaws or yoke was to bolt onto the inner end of the gai-f separate pieces fashioned into the desired shape. This plan is laborious, expensive, and :insecure when compared with mine, which involves simply the dressing of the crotch, and secures great strength land durability. Sometimes, however, gaffs may have been made out of sticks which prevented natural forks to form the cheeks orjaws, although I am not aware that such is the fact; but these could only be used on small vessels, because timber long and straight enough for vessels of the larger class with a crotch of natural growth cannot readily be found, and if it could it would be too heavy for either gaffs or booms. Hence the practice in large vessels has always been to select for these and like purposes the lightest timber, as pine, for instance; but as this usually grows without branching it resulted as a necessity that cheeks should be boltedon to form the jaws. By hinging the peak of the gaff to the jaws, as"above described` I am enabled to secure the advantages of the natural crotch in the largest vessels, for the jaws may be of such timber as branches in its growth, such as oak, while the peak may be, as usual, made of pine or like wood, and thus avoid the too great weight of the gaff.

. Having thus described myimprovement in gaifs, what I claim therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, 1s-

l. Dividing the gaff into two parts called the jaws and the peak,9 and uniting or conmeeting them together yby means of a hinge, ber which presents L naturally-formed fork whereby the ehaing or abrasion of the mast or crotch, es and for Jche purposes described. 1s prevented and the strain upon the canvas relieved in the striking of the sail, substan- XV. H. CONVAY. tiaily as described. Witnesses:

2. In combination with :L gaff so divided and J. C. MORAN, hinged, making the jaws thereof ont of tim- FREDK. RINGGOLD. 

